Liberal Arts Major(s): Spanish
Other Major: Hospitality Management
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
What was the best part of your experience?
The best part of my experience was being surrounded by other students studying in my field every day. They made the internship great because we all were friends and could relate to each other's experiences. I enjoyed the project that all the interns worked on together. We had to come up with an idea to add to the property. It was supposed to be something that we felt our guests could benefit from and was lacking in terms of what we already offered. Ultimately, we came up with the idea of a mobile bar. We did all the research, chose the alcohol, built a demo, gave a presentation and did a happy hour test run which was a great experience.
How did this experience impact you academically?
I think the internship was a great supplement to what I am currently learning at Penn State in the hospitality management program. For example, when working on our intern project proposal we were tasked with finding out how profitable our project would be. I had to look over the profit and loss statements and understand how to read them and the costs of goods sold spreadsheets that were used at the property. Doing this type of work helped me sharpen the skills that I had been learning in class for years. Besides those technical skills, I was able to put soft skills into practice with employees, customers, and management.
Doing this type of work helped me sharpen the skills that I had been learning in class for years.
How will this experience impact your career goals?
This was a huge learning experience for me. I have worked in different areas of my industry throughout my years in college. However, this internship was a bit of a challenge for me because I knew very little about working in that department and had never done it before. Since everything was new to me, I learned A LOT. I was able to put into practice some things I had been learning in class like guest communication, guest standards, and more. It was great to be able to get this hands on experience because it makes me a more well-rounded candidate when I am applying for jobs after graduation.